Taekwondo Totnes

Images of young children doing energetic kicks and rapid punching manoeuvres, are what spring to mind at the mere mention of Taekwondo. Whilst the physical demands of Taekwondo may make it more suitable for the younger and fitter generation, it can be practiced by people of any age. You will however get a lot more enjoyment out of Taekwondo if you are fairly agile and fit.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently formulated of the martial arts, with its root beginnings in Korea in 1945. A number of Korean martial artists in Seoul established some new schools which they called "kwans", merging various martial arts practices. Taekwondo, which was ultimately called, primarily entails high-kicking manoeuvres, particularly fast kicking strategies, spinning/jumping kicks and head-height kicks.

Ever since the Sydney Olympic Games in the year 2000, Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport. This has made it even more popular all over the world with some sixty million people or more actively taking classes. And it's by enrolling in a Taekwondo class or club that you are able to start your adventure of mastering this fascinating activity.

For a lot of folks in Totnes, it's the self-defence aspect of Taekwondo which has the most appeal. And in these times of increased violence, especially in city and town centres, it is no surprise that this aspect sits high on people's priority lists. It is a primary factor of Taekwondo that you're able to gain more confidence in your capability to defend yourself while at the same time learning to respect others and practice self-restraint.

These self-defence techniques may at some point prove to be useful in your everyday life, though it is far more likely that you will only be putting them to the test within a supervised class setting. However it is a wonderful feeling knowing the fact that you'll always be in a position to defend yourself when you have to.

Your First Totnes Taekwondo Lesson

For those of you who have never done Taekwondo before, you will no doubt be interested to know what to expect from your first class. There may be variations to the following, depending on which Totnes Taekwondo school you attend, but you can roughly expect; A fifteen to twenty minute warm up, a bit of technical training comprising some kicks, stances, blocking techniques and hand attacks, some work on forms or patterns, a few tips on sparring including timing, movement and the targeting of attacks, and lastly a warm down to stretch muscles and relax.

Anybody who joins a Taekwondo club in Totnes has to also become a member of British Taekwondo which is the governing body of the sport in the British Isles. By exploring the British Taekwondo website you will be able to read info on events, referees and coaching, first aid, coaching courses, safe practices, news, members and clubs, equality and safeguarding, establishing a new Taekwondo club, and lots more Taekwondo related issues.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

The ranking and belt system can get quite bewildering in Taekwondo because there's no uniform system throughout the various Taekwondo disciplines. Parallels do exist however, and typically there are 2 distinct belt groupings, denoted as "seniors" (black dans) and "juniors" (colours). The number of levels in the junior section varies over the styles but is generally somewhere between eight and twelve belts, whilst the senior group usually has 9 dans or belts.

Rankings in Taekwondo in the UK are represented by what are referred to as "Kup". The top rank is First Kup and the lowest (beginners) is Tenth Kup. As with many of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is portrayed by a range of different colours, so that the ranks can be easily recognised. These colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with transitional belts with stripes in-between, namely - white with a yellow stripe, yellow with a green stripe, green with a blue stripe, blue with a red stripe and red with a black stripe. Beginner students of Taekwondo in Totnes will commence with the White Belt (10th Kup), and progress through the various colours until they earn the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup).

Taekwondo students in Totnes are considered to be "black belt candidates" after they have successfully completed this process, and they'll then need to move through another nine ranks (Dans) if they wish to achieve the greatest distinction of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. Therefore, the Taekwondo belt order can be grouped into 3 divisions; Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts. The Junior group of Taekwondo Belts are; White (Tenth), White With a Yellow Stripe (Ninth), Yellow (Eighth), and Yellow With a Green Stripe (Seventh). The Senior division of Taekwondo Belts are; Green (Sixth), Green With a Blue Stripe (Fifth), Blue (Fourth), Blue With a Red Stripe (Third), Red (Second), and Red With a Black Stripe (First). The Black division of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and demands many years of dedicated training. (Tags: Taekwondo Black Belts, Taekwondo Rankings Totnes, Taekwondo Belts Totnes, Taekwondo Belt Order).

Tournaments

There are a wide variety of tournaments and competitions in Taekwondo involving all the various styles. They largely involve breaking, patterns (forms) and sparring with not much hard contact. International Taekwon-Do Federation tournaments do not permit disproportionate contact but sometimes allow hand attacks to be aimed at the head. WT and Olympic tournaments allow only sparring. Multi-style tournaments are also held.

Taekwondo Kicks

Of all the martial arts, Taekwondo has the widest number of kicking techniques. Amongst them are: Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", which are used to repulse the various attacks, are called Makgi. Using the hands and parts of the arm, they are held in specific positions. Each type of attack calls for a particular style of block, counter-attacking moves can be created by integrating a block with a retaliatory kick or punch. The most important blocks include: Upper Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Double Forearm Block, Low Block, Knife Hand Block, Rising Block, Palm Block, Nine Block and Single Forearm Block.

Taekwondo Beginners Classes

Learners starting out on their Taekwondo adventure in Totnes will first of all sign up for a beginners class. Beginners classes are great, as there are no stringent demands and things are carried out at a slow, relaxed pace. Having fun whilst learning is the main aim in the early stages and trainees who are having fun tend to learn much faster and digest more of what they're being taught. Even Taekwondo masters began as clueless novices, so take that first step and who knows where you'll end up!

Taekwondo Forms

Taekwondo forms (also called Poomse or patterns) are characterized by particular facets like direction, technique and stance. From the beginning you'll get to grips with a few of the standard forms, and in order to progress through the grades (belts) you'll need to master some more technical ones.

To Summarize

Precisely what you get from Taekwondo will be proportional to what you put into it (as is true of life in general). Many of you will purely want to improve your fitness levels, make new friends and meet different people, some may want to progress to tournaments and competitions or perhaps even the Olympic Games. But remember, we can't all be a Jade Jones or a Lutalo Muhammad. 👊